Retired army Gen. Otto Perez Molina was sworn in as Guatemala 's president Saturday , pledging to take a tough stand on crime amid growing insecurity in the Central American nation .

`` We have a country in crisis ... a nation very close to an economic and moral breakdown , '' he said . `` Today , there is an air of hope . ''

Concerns about violence in Guatemala , which has worsened as Mexican drug cartels have stepped up operations in parts of the country , dominated last year 's vote .

In a Vox Latina national survey in July , more than two-thirds of Guatemalans said violence was what concerned them most , far outpacing the combined totals for the economy , unemployment , poverty and lack of education .

The 61-year-old retired general pledged to bring a `` mano dura '' -- firm hand -- to Guatemala 's highest office .

In a debate co-hosted by CNN en Español last year , Perez Molina called for `` elite units of the army '' to play a larger role in the nation 's battle against gangs and drug cartels .

That approach -- and Perez Molina 's high rank in the military during Guatemala 's decades-long civil war -- worries human rights groups in Guatemala and abroad .

Concerns stem from the fact that the Guatemalan military committed multiple atrocities during the civil war , although Perez Molina has never been directly implicated in any of them .

Poverty is endemic in Guatemala , and the country has one of the worst crime rates in Latin America . Forty-three percent of children under 5 are chronically malnourished . And the murder rate in 2010 was 42 per 100,000 people -- one of the highest in the world .

Last year marked only the fourth time that Guatemala has held presidential elections since peace accords were signed in 1996 , officially ending a civil war that devastated the country for 36 years . The conflict left more than 100,000 people dead and a million refugees .

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Retired Gen. Otto Perez Molina pledges to take a tough stand on crime

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`` Today , there is an air of hope , '' he says

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Security issues loomed large during last year 's campaign